Guest opinion: DMR name change long overdue

Monday

Jun 23, 2008 at 12:01 AMJun 23, 2008 at 11:17 PM

For comedian Bill Maher, the word "retarded" is just a garden-variety, impersonal insult. The President is a "retarded child emperor" and people getting fired up about religion is "retarded." But for tens of thousands of people in Massachusetts and their families with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the word retarded can be the most personal of attacks; yet it remains in the name of the state agency that provides services for them.

For comedian Bill Maher, the word "retarded" is just a garden-variety, impersonal insult. The President is a "retarded child emperor" and people getting fired up about religion is "retarded." In 2001, he infamously went so far as to liken "retarded children" to dogs.

But for tens of thousands of people in Massachusetts and their families with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the word retarded can be the most personal of attacks; yet it remains in the name of the state agency that provides services for them.

This year, the Massachusetts Senate has included language in its budget that would change that. The proposal, which has been met with wide acceptance, would change the name of the Department of Mental Retardation to the Department of Developmental Services. It needs to be agreed upon by the House and then signed by the Governor to become law.

This is an opportunity that should not be squandered if Massachusetts is to truly serve people with disabilities. There is a wealth of precedence for such a switch.

In a ceremony in the Oval Office in July 2003, President Bush signed an executive order changing the name of The President's Committee on Mental Retardation to the President's Committee on People with Intellectual Disabilities.

In 2005, the board of directors of The Arc of the United States voted to remove the words "mental retardation" from its mission statement.

In 2006, the 130-year-old American Association on Mental Retardation changed its name to the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Just last year Connecticut made an identical switch to Massachusetts' proposal, changing its Department of Mental Retardation to Department of Developmental Services. In Massachusetts, DMR Commissioner Elin Howe supports the change as does Senate President Therese Murray, and it enjoys significant support in the House.

Only 10 states in the country still use the word "retardation" in the name of its department or division that serves people with disabilities.

While changing the name of the DMR is necessary, we recognize that it is not easy. The term "mental retardation" is codified in law and diagnostic definitions and offers special protections in key policy areas, including death penalty prosecutions and Social Security administrative processes.

For this reason, it would be complicated to remove every reference to mental retardation in Massachusetts laws. Fortunately, this concern does not come into play when simply changing the name of DMR to Department of Developmental Services.

The impetus behind the name change comes directly from people with disabilities, their families and friends. John Anton, chairman of the self-advocacy organization Massachusetts Advocates Standing Strong and a person with Down Syndrome, has called changing the name of DMR his life mission.

One of us is a sister to someone with Down Syndrome and has experienced firsthand how hurtful the word can be. I cringe whenever I hear the word today. We have all heard from families who have told us that their sense of accomplishment about their children was devastated the first time they saw the word "retardation" on an envelope from DMR.

Furthermore, parents of children with autism complain that the name is flat-out inaccurate for them. "Every time I talk to people about applying for DMR services, I have to explain that my son is not mentally retarded, but that DMR is the agency where autism has been categorized," says Jennifer O'Leary of Maynard, speaking about her two-year-old son, Connor.

Some will note that there are many well-meaning parents who use the term retarded (as in "my retarded daughter") without a hint of insult. While this is true, it is also undeniable that in popular usage today, "retarded" has become nothing more than an offensive schoolyard taunt.

Eight years ago, about 20 protesters took positions in front of the State House on a windy, rainy February day to protest DMR's name. Wearing "Change This Name" T-shirts and holding signs that spelled "Respect," they noted then that retardation was a "loaded word" that is "long outdated."

Today, the word retardation (and all its ugly variants) is no less loaded and even more outdated. If the time wasn't right eight years ago to do right by the 32,000 people served by DMR, it is undeniably right now.